Learning Something New

Image Credit: M.Leo_M

Learning a new language is always a little daunting. Picking up that first book, trying to say the words without understanding their significance or even the proper pronunciation, having people from a country you visit scrunching up their faces wondering what the hell you just said, and you thought you said it beautifully!

I have been trying my oh-so-feeble-hand at Arabic, mainly because I am fascinated by characters that are different from the traditional english alphabet, but also because I want to be able to delve into some of these libraries. Every faltering word I tentatively speak or sound out, and every joyful celebration at reading the signs and symbols is borne out of hard work.

Increasing the number of languages I speak has become one of my passions so imagine what happened when I came across this video below,

It is the language of some South African history greats like Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, not that we imagine we would ever be able to be fluent enough to conduct an interview in Xhosa or even have the chance to interview these great people, but it sure is nice to dream.

Are there any languages you wish you could learn with someone online?